title: Association of metabolic syndrome and diabetes with subclinical coronary stenosis and plaque subtypes in middle-aged individuals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The presence of subclinical stenosed coronary segments and plaque subtypes has not been compared among those with metabolic syndrome, diabetes, or neither condition in middle-aged individuals. In select, intermediate-risk subjects, it may be reasonable to directly measure atherosclerosis burden by low-dose, multidetector-row computed tomographic coronary angiography.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 1024 consecutive, newly self-referred subjects (692 men, 332 women; mean age 53.0±9.7 years) who underwent health evaluation at the China Medical University Hospital. Participants had at least one cardiac risk factor, but no known coronary heart disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among our 1024 subjects, 135 had diabetes, 334 had metabolic syndrome and 555 had neither condition. The subjects with diabetes and those with metabolic syndrome had a higher prevalence of non-calcified, calcified and mixed-type plaques and stenosed coronary segments than the subjects with neither condition (P<0.05). The odds ratios for diabetes and the presence of any plaque, mixed plaque, calcified plaque and stenosed segment compared with neither metabolic syndrome nor diabetes were 2.893, 3.629, 2.099 and 2.036, respectively, all of which were significant (P<0.05). The odds ratio for metabolic syndrome and the presence of any plaque compared with neither metabolic syndrome nor diabetes was 1.606 (95% CI 1.063-2.426; P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In middle-aged subjects, diabetes was related to an increased risk of the presence of mixed plaques, calcified plaques and stenosed coronary segments. However, metabolic syndrome was related to an increased risk of the presence of any coronary plaque, but not related to stenosed coronary segments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan. tsann_lin@yahoo.com.tw
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: J-C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: L-Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: T-M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed